rheostat

[rob0781]

I have a cheap fluxcore welder 110v that I'd like to use for abit of exhaust work, nothing fancy or meant to look good just joining a few pipes and patches.. is it possible for me to wire a power cord to a rheostat then from the rheostat to a plug that i could plug the welder into to turn down that power more then i can on the actual machine? Basically the same idea as a light dimmer i guess... i would like to buy a mig with gas i know thats the proper way unfortunately that is not possible. Any idea's, thoughts or help would be great. Thanks

 

[Zeke]

You can't be serious. How about running your table radio on a dimmer to see if the volume goes down. it won't

 

[rob0781]

Yeah i was serious electrical is my weakness, i thought i remembered reading something like that on another forum a few years back and got wondering if it would work.

 

[Zeke]

Alright, I'll be serious with you. As in your computer, there is a power supply that turns the house current into the current needed for welding. Your computer PS may put out some current on low voltage but too low and the computer won't work. The welder is the same, run the power down and it just doesn't like it. The way to control your welding is with the wire size you use, the settings you use and the stick out on the wire into the weld puddle. You can only go so low on a MIG.

 

[JDon99]

Any 120v mig that is worth anything at all should have no problem welding exhaust pipe w/o burning through. Like Zeke said, size your wire accordingly(I'm not sure how many options you have with flux cored wire).

 

[rob0781]

Ok that makes sense,thanks for the reply. I kinda figured it sounded to easy to actually work.